Free-to-air TV: Friday, November 16

Nick Galvin

MOONE Boy is one of those hard-to-classify shows. It's an amalgam of several genres and, pleasingly, the result is great fun. Described as ''semi-autobiographical'' as well as being a ''warm family comedy'', the closest it comes to is Simon Doonan's Beautiful People, itself entertaining television. Moone Boy stars Chris O'Dowd as the imaginary friend of a 12-year-old boy (David Rawle) growing up in Ireland in the late 1980s-early '90s. Steve Coogan does a brilliant turn in this episode as Francie ''Touchy'' Feely, the lecherous owner of the local fish factory. The humour is quirky without being forced and a lot of it comes from some fine comic writing.

America Revealed: Electric Nation, SBS One, 8.30pm

THE central thesis of this curious documentary is that the US can be explained as a series of systems. It examines the various means by which the country satisfies its insatiable need for power. Presented by action man Yul Kwon, who is never happier than when shouting into a microphone in a helicopter or abseiling down the side of a giant wind turbine, the backdrop is a parade of massive infrastructure - two-storey mining trucks, two-kilometre trains, vast gas-carrying ships. The overall tone, however, is chillingly uncritical, managing virtually to ignore the environmental elephant in the room. This is unashamed boosterism, designed to ''celebrate the great American energy machine'', and if it reflects mainstream sentiment there, we are in deeper trouble than we thought.

The Boy Who Was Born a Girl, ABC2, 9.30pm

''I'M JUST your average teenage boy - apart from the fact I was born a girl.'' That's how 16-year-old Jon introduces himself in this startlingly frank and brave documentary. For 15 years, Jon was brought up as Natasha, until he admitted his gender dysphoria to his mother. The film follows Jon's progress as he gradually sheds his identity as a female and grows into his new self.

Neighbours, Channel Eleven, 6.30pm

THIS is episode 6530 of Neighbours. After 27 years, they are obviously doing something right. And, based on this episode at least, it's easy to see what that is: challenging, it ain't. But to criticise the show on that basis would be to do it a grave disservice. It's meant to be comforting, funny and occasionally emotional. If you want edgy, there's always HBO. Today's serving from Ramsay Street has a well-balanced mix of drama and humour, and nudges along the various storylines while introducing fresh interest (Carmel, Susan's sister, turns up out of the blue).